Donna Ho'omanawanui, left, resident night manager at a Windward spouse abuse shelter, shares a laugh with Mikki Buentello, center, and Kaliegh Cuervo, two battered women who were staying there in October to escape their abusers. The two have since left the shelter.

Posted on: December 20, 2008
Survivors of domestic violence inspire hope in Hawaii victims Photo gallery
Denby Lee Toci was stuck in an abusive relationship for 17 years. She tried leaving her husband several times, but always came back, partly out of fear and partly because she wanted to keep her family intact. She also held out hope that her husband's abusive behavior would stop.


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Day 7: Success

At her Hilo home, Donna Weber holds her grandchild, Ayden Kamai. The necklace she wears bears the name of her daughter, Daysha, who was shot dead by her ex-boyfriend in 2006. The necklace contains some of Daysha's ashes.

The boy left behind
Posted on: December 20, 2008
On Nov. 1, 2006, Daysha was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Boyd Santos Jr., a man she had lived with and loved, and the father of her only child. She was 21. This is her story as told by her journals, her family and her friends. She is missed, and she is remembered.

Joe Kop sits outside his Wai'anae home with his wife, Shawna, whom he once threatened with a knife. Two years ago, Circuit Judge Steven Alm spared Kop from prison, allowing the convicted felon to enter a probation program called HOPE. Now,

Probation program seeing abusers change
Posted on: December 20, 2008
It was his sixth criminal conviction since 2003, and Joe Kop faced up to five years in prison for grabbing his wife by the neck and threatening to stab her with a kitchen knife.

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After the abuse


Daysha's family mourns